https://commons.wikimedia.org



The Ecumenical Catholic Communion's

Truth & Reconciliation Commission


invites you

to join us on




A Pilgrimage To Montgomery, Alabama


April 8-11, 2025

.



We will visit the Legacy Sites:



The Legacy Museum

https://commons.wikimedia.org

Freedom Monument Sculpture Park



The National Memorial for

Peace and Justice

https://commons.wikimedia.org

https://commons.wikimedia.org

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice is the nation's first comprehensive memorial dedicated to thousands of African American victims of racial terror lynchings between 1877 and 1950.



During the Pilgrimage, we will visit all three Legacy Sites. We will also have time for communal prayer and reflection.



Based on feedback from the staff at these sites, we recommend that if you plan to bring children that they be at least 12 years old. Children must be always supervised by a parent or an adult chaperone.




REGISTRATION FEE


A Registration fee of $100 for those aged 17 or above and 

$50 for those aged 12 through 16 are due no later than MARCH 1, 2025. 




The registration fee includes materials, Legacy Museum admissions, and a Thursday communal dinner.



Registration fees can be paid via PayPal or with credit card at the ECC website or you can mail a check to the ECC Office, 10 West Lockwood, Webster Groves, MO 63119.



REGISTRATION LINK


https://forms.gle/qXxVtMo8gbCxQB13A



TRAVEL



Costs for travel (air/bus/train) and accommodation for three nights are the responsibility of each participant.


Our two designated hotels include breakfast and an evening reception with light refreshments is available each day at the Embassy and on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at Staybridge.




Embassy Suites by Hilton:


https://www.guestreservations.com/embassy-suites-montgomery-hotel-conference-center/booking





Staybridge Suites:


https://www.reservationcounter.com/hotels/show/6256375/staybridge-suites-montgomery-alabama/




In addition, shuttle service within a 3-mile radius is available at the Embassy Suites.


We encourage you to contact our exclusive travel agent, Kia Wilson as soon as possible to determine whether an

air/hotel discount package is available from your city.


Those traveling by car, bus, or train should contact Kia for hotel-only rates.



Contact Kia Wilson:

trippingwithkaye@gmail.com



Air fares and hotel rates are steadily increasing so we advise you to make your reservations as early as possible.


Full payment to Kia must be made by February 15th.



A Spirit-led, Transformative Experience


Our desire is to have at least one person from each ECC Community attend the pilgrimage. We encourage each church and its members to consider offering financial assistance for those who would like to join us.




We believe that this will be a Spirit-led and transformative experience that individuals can share with their community. In doing so, they and the Ecumenical Catholic Communion will be better equipped to be agents of social change.



Embracing “truth-telling,” paying respect to those who have lost their lives because of anti-Black racism and awakening to the creative and spiritual gifts of African American peoples is the only way to open the door to racial healing in our country.





WHY A LYNCHING MEMORIAL? 


WHY A MUSEUM ABOUT ENSLAVEMENT?




·      To memorialize the 6000K+ Americans who were 

violently murdered because of their race.



·      To recognize and support the families whose loved ones were brutally tortured to death.



·      To uncover the systemic injustice within local and federal governments that instituted laws based on White supremacy and which led to murder, bodily harm, and emotional trauma of Black people.



·      To draw parallels between Black enslavement and lynching to current day mass incarceration and police brutality which in every respect has weakened the Black community.



·       To highlight the strength and determination of Black 

people in the face of unspeakable horrors.



·       To celebrate the many forms of creativity that sprung 

from pain and suffering and which continue to provide a “Balm in Gilead” for current times.




·       To emphasize the spirituality that emanates from a 

system of profound injustices developed to destroy the Black body, mind, and soul.



·       To resist efforts to erase or gloss over historical truths concerning the interactions between Black and White people in this country.



·      To understand how complicit we are in promoting untruths regarding race in America and to recognize that attempts to derail, redefine, or ignore the historical truths contribute to ongoing racial unrest.



·      To allow yourself to be transformed by the Spirit so 

that you can promote “malkuta,” the enrichment and empowering of all communities.





If you have questions…...



Contact Jennifer Reyes Lay:

jreyeslay@gmail.com